Softball
Favorite athlete: Chase Utley
Favorite team: Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Finishing fourth at ASA softball nationals last summer with my club team.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Once while taking a lead off third, my shoelace got caught in my cleat and I tripped myself!
Music on iPod: Everything
Future plans: Attend and play softball at Millersville University
Words to live by: “Every day is another chance to do something great.” –Emma Paul
One goal before turning 30: Have a job as an occupational therapist.
One thing people don’t know about me: I know how to knit.
By Mary Jane Souder
The scene is a familiar one to fans of Hatboro-Horsham softball.
Jaynie Black, occupying a seat on a ball bucket near her team’s on-deck circle, alternately shouts encouragement and advice to players at the plate and on the base paths.
“No one better,” Black shouts. “You’ve got this. Confidence.”
And then to a player who doesn’t slide on a close play at third base, “You’ve got to be down on that one.”
To even a casual observer, it’s clear that Black falls comfortably into her role of captain and takes seriously her responsibility to offer guidance to a young squad.
“It’s really great to see these older kids when they accept the younger kids,” coach Joe DiFilippo said. “I have a pretty young team this year, and both Jaynie and Jen (Cader) make it so easy for these young kids to come up.
“I put enough pressure on the kids – it’s good to have someone who is on an even keel.”
Black, it turns out, hasn’t forgotten what it was like to be a rookie on a Hatter squad that captured the state title the preceding year.
“Our program has always been so strong, so there are huge expectations coming in,” she said. “I definitely know the stress of coming in.
“We just try and calm them down and tell them it’s just a game – it’s easier when you play loose.”
That’s not to say Black doesn’t put pressure on herself. She does.
“She always wants to succeed and always wants to do the right thing, and she takes it to heart when she makes a mistake,” DiFilippo said. “The other day we were playing Bensalem, and she booted a ground ball.
“You don’t have to say anything to her. She said, ‘I look at you, and I know what you’re thinking.’”
Black has been golden at second base for the Hatters, but with holes to fill at the start of the season, DiFilippo plugged his senior captain in at third base. Although Black was rock solid, the Hatters’ coach decided to move her back to second after several games.
“She’s just too good up the middle, so I had to put her back to second base,” DiFilippo said.
This season has had its share of challenges for a young Hatter squad.
“We started early in the season with practices because we knew we would have to practice mechanics and get used to all the new girls coming up,” Black said. “We’ve only had two outdoor practices this season, so it’s been really tough. We’ve been playing game after game.
“We’ve had our pasta parties, we had other get-togethers, and we’ve tried to become as close as we can off the field so it shows on the field.”
Softball has been part of Black’s life for as long as she can remember.
“It started with my parents – both my parents are very athletic,” she said. “My mom played softball and soccer, and my sister and I continued that.”
Carly Black – four years Jaynie’s senior – chose soccer over softball, turning her talents into a scholarship to the University of West Virginia where she will be a senior next year.
The siblings remain very close – talking almost every day, and Jaynie acknowledges that Carly has had a huge impact.
“I always looked up to my sister because she was such a great athlete,” Jaynie said. “She was so good with me, having catches in the backyard and just encouraging me to do my best and have fun.
“She’s a great role model. I always look up to her.”
Black played soccer through middle school, but softball has always been in the forefront.
“My parents encouraged me to choose whatever sport I wanted to choose, and I chose softball in the end,” Black said.
Her reasons for loving the sport speak volumes about the senior captain.
“It’s such a team game - you can’t play it by yourself,” she said. “You get so invested in your teammates. I don’t know – I just love it.”
Black joined the travel circuit as a member of the U10 Banshees. For two years, she played for TNT but opted to switch to the Thunderbirds last year.
“It was just a personal choice,” Black said. “I got along with the girls so well. It was just about what would be better to progress me to where I wanted to be in the future.”
Where Black will be in the future is Millersville University.
“It was a goal to play at the collegiate level,” she said. “It didn’t have to be D1. I just wanted to find a program that really fit me, and I fell in love with Millersville.
“They had my major and everything there was perfect for me.”
Before she heads off the Millersville in the fall, Black will be playing for the Thunderbirds where DiFilippo also is her coach.
According to Thunderbird teammate Morgan Yoder, the catcher of the defending state champion Souderton Indians, Black brings the same valued traits to her summer team that she brings to the Hatters.
“She’s a very positive person,” said Yoder, who will room with Black at Millersville. “I hear her on the field and bench non-stop cheering for our team.
“If you ever make an error or don’t have a good at-bat, she’s the first person to come up to you and pick you up.”
The future roommates are opponents twice a year during the high school season.
“Playing against her is extremely difficult because she is such a great person,” Yoder said. “It’s hard to root against her.
“Whenever she walks up the plate, we always look at each other and laugh and make small comments. It’s the little things that make us laugh. She has such a presence on the field, and I can’t say enough good things about her. She’s just an overall genuine person, and I couldn’t be more excited to go to Millersville with her.”
Off the softball diamond, Black, who has taken several AP classes, also excels in the classroom. She is a member of the National Society and is also on the Advisory Board for her senior class. She is a member of the newly formed Link Club, which helps incoming freshmen adjust to high school life.
For now, Black and her Hatter teammates are battling for a spot in postseason district play, hoping to extend their season.
“It’s been a blast,” the senior captain said of her final high school season. “We’ve become close with all the new underclassmen. We just had to integrate them in and show them our style of play.”
